Martial God Family!

Xiao Quan was so furious that his lungs were nearly bursting.

This was open contempt for the Xiao Family!

Xiao Quan stared fixedly toward the end of the sky, the killing intent in his eyes almost tangible. But he soon calmed down, and a question rose in his mind: why was the other party protecting Ye Tianming so fiercely?

Justice?

He knew that someone like Song Shi would never clash head-on with the Xiao Family for justice alone. People like him all had a measuring stick in their hearts and would weigh their choices.

In other words, it came down to value. Ye Tianming had to be valuable for Song Shi to act this way.

At that thought, his face darkened. Had Ye Tianming displayed some other terrifying talent?

He immediately turned and vanished from the spot. He had to return to the Xiao Clan and report this at once; he could not give Ye Tianming any more time.

Delay could bring unforeseen changes.

Qingzhou.

That day, An Xiao brought a group of people from the An Clan to the ancestral An Clan. All of them were beside themselves with excitement.

The ancestral clan had agreed to let their branch return.

They were returning to their ancestral clan!

From then on, they could declare to the world that they belonged to the An Clan, the Martial God Family.

The Martial God Family!

A first-rate noble family of the Guanxuan Universe.

An Xiao led the group, and he could hardly conceal his own excitement. Beside him was An Qi, who had clearly taken special care with her appearance today. She wore a pale green dress, her long hair falling over her shoulders, and her graceful bearing drew many gazes.

An Qi's face was flushed with excitement as well.

The blood ties between their An Clan and the Martial God Family's An Clan were actually very, very thin. Out in the world, they had never even dared to claim kinship with the Martial God Family, much less imagined that they could one day return to the ancestral clan.

And their return this time was all thanks to one person: An Yan.

An Yan had taken first place by an overwhelming margin in the Guanxuan Grand Examination, personally presided over by Young Master Yang Jia. Yang Jia had then personally admitted him into the White Robe Pavilion, where he was now the number two, second only to the White Robe Chancellor, Zuo Ci!

What was the White Robe Pavilion?

It was Young Master Yang Jia's think tank. Everyone in it was a talent personally nurtured or recruited by him. Although none of its members held an official position yet, they could all influence the affairs of court and were candidates for future positions in the Outer Pavilion and Inner Pavilion. Zuo Ci, moreover, had already been chosen as the next chief minister of the Inner Pavilion!

And now, An Yan had not only entered the White Robe Pavilion but had also become its number two. His prospects were truly boundless!

Most importantly, the members of the White Robe Pavilion were all Young Master Yang Jia's trusted confidants! They were the core team he had raised himself, and they would govern the Guanxuan Universe in the future!

Although the An Clan was the Martial God Family, it would naturally take someone like An Yan seriously. Thus, it had decided to let An Yan's branch return to the ancestral clan.

Led by members of the ancestral An Clan, An Xiao and the others entered the ancestral shrine and kowtowed respectfully before the three statues of martial gods inside...

After a series of complicated formalities, An Xiao and the others finally returned to their ancestral lineage.

An Xiao smiled as he left the shrine. From now on, they were no longer the An Clan, but the ancestral An Clan, a first-rate noble family of Qingzhou.

As if recalling something, he turned to An Qi beside him. "I heard Ye Tianming went to the Central Divine Province, that Sin Province."

An Qi knitted her delicate brows.

Ye Tianming!

That name... felt familiar, yet somewhat strange.

After a moment's silence, An Qi asked, "How is he now?"

An Xiao said, "I asked around earlier. Apparently, he's only at the Major Tribulation Realm, four realms below you now..."

He smiled as he continued, "Good thing you chose to separate from him without hesitation back then. Otherwise, our family would be first-rate now, but you'd be marrying someone from a lowest-rank family. We'd become the laughingstock of the entire Guanxuan Universe."

Vermilion gates paired with vermilion gates; bamboo gates paired with bamboo gates.

How could the Martial God Family marry into a lowest-rank family?

The Martial God Family could not be humiliated!

An Xiao added, "I just received word that the An Clan has decided to nurture you as a core disciple. Before long, you too will become one of the very top prodigies of the Guanxuan Universe's younger generation. As for Ye Tianming... never mind, let's not talk about him."

An Qi slowly raised her head toward the sky and said softly, "I knew he and I would end up in two different worlds, but I never thought it would come so soon..."

Guanxuan Academy, Central Divine Province.

On the ruined mountain behind the academy, Ye Tianming stood amid a pile of rubble. He slowly raised both hands as though holding something aloft, and in an instant, countless streams of earth power surged up from deep underground. The ground began to tremble like an earthquake.

He was trying to master and manipulate the power of these earth veins while testing the limits of his mind.

After the last time, he had realized that not only was his physical body weak, but his mind was weak as well. He had no good way to strengthen his body, but he had discovered that manipulating the power of the earth veins could train his mental power.

Mental power!

He knew that some people cultivated mental power specifically, particularly cultivators skilled in spellcraft. Their mental power was terrifying: often, a single thought could destroy an opponent's mind and turn them into an idiot. The stronger mental power cultivators were even more frightening. With a single thought, they could move mountains, calm seas, and tear open the sky with a leaf.

In the Guanxuan Universe, a person's strength was measured by far more than cultivation realm alone. For instance, someone might be at the Myriad Law Realm, just like you, but their physical body might be at the Minor Tribulation Realm, or their mental power and soul power might be at the Minor Tribulation Realm. They might have mastered a powerful martial skill or divine ability, or possess a divine artifact...

Of course, a higher cultivation realm also meant a stronger body, mental power, and divine soul. But his immediate goal was not to raise his realm; it was to stabilize the realm he already had and bring his body, mental power, and even his divine soul to their limits.

Fortunately, Mu Guanchen was guiding him now, sparing him many detours. In the past, he had always had to figure out cultivation entirely on his own.

Under his control, the power of the earth veins around him began to stir slowly. He was clearly struggling, and his face gradually turned pale, but he was excited. As he controlled it with his cultivation art, he discovered that he could make the earth-vein power change shape. He tried to condense it into a sword, but that was extremely difficult. Before long, his body went limp and he collapsed, while the earth-vein power rapidly receded deep into the ground.

This time was better. He had not passed out and was still conscious, though very weak.

Ye Tianming was excited, because this felt wonderful. In a few days at most, he would be able to control the earth-vein power better and condense it into an earth-vein sword. The thought made him even more excited, because he had another new idea.

Control swords with Qi!

Control the swords of the earth!

Just thinking about it was awesome!

Little Pagoda suddenly said, "What are you so excited about?"

Ye Tianming chuckled. "Tower Ancestor, don't you think I'm a genius?"

Little Pagoda: "..."

Ye Tianming told Little Pagoda his idea. After listening, Little Pagoda fell silent for a moment, then said, "Your idea could indeed work. The power of the earth veins is inexhaustible, which means that as long as your mental power is sufficient, your flying swords could be endless. But it places extremely high demands on your mental power..."

Ye Tianming nodded. "I'll work hard."

Little Pagoda said, "As for being a genius... kid, do you know how many prodigies and geniuses I've seen?"

Ye Tianming's curiosity was piqued. "How many?"

Little Pagoda laughed. "Far, far too many. Kid, the world is vast, very vast. Never mind Qingzhou and the Central Divine Province-even if you took all the geniuses and prodigies in the Guanxuan Universe's history and placed them in the wider universe, apart from a very small handful, they would only be considered ordinary."

Ye Tianming said softly, "I've seen too little."

Little Pagoda laughed heartily. "You don't need to belittle yourself. Your talent may be limited, but you do have my guidance. There will definitely be a place for you on the grand stage of this universe someday."

Ye Tianming quickly nodded. "I may not believe in myself, but I'll always believe in you, Tower Ancestor. I'll listen carefully to everything you say. If I really do make a name for myself someday, I'll never forget your kindness. When the time comes, I'll take care of you in your old age."

Little Pagoda was deeply gratified. This kid was such a good-hearted fellow!

Little Pagoda blurted out, "Actually, I do have a method for cultivating mental power..."

Hearing this, Ye Tianming was instantly thrilled. "Tower Ancestor, what method do you have?"

Tower Ancestor laughed. "Your method of manipulating earth-vein power can improve your mental power, but it's like doing manual labor. It doesn't accomplish much. You need to learn to use a method; ideally, you should be able to form a Mental Domain..."

Ye Tianming was puzzled. "Tower Ancestor, what's a Mental Domain?"

Little Pagoda said, "It's like marking out a territory that belongs to you alone. Within that territory, you have absolute control. Of course, forming a Mental Domain is extremely difficult."

Ye Tianming asked, "Tower Ancestor, if mental power can form a Mental Domain, then since I cultivate the sword, can I form a Sword Domain too?"

Little Pagoda: "..."

Ye Tianming waited for an answer.

Little Pagoda said gravely, "Yes, you can. But we can start with a Mental Domain. I have a method you can try: perception and condensation. First, we have to perceive our own mental power, then condense it..."

Little Pagoda proceeded to teach Ye Tianming a method. It had actually been extracted from the cultivation art called the Cosmic Guanxuan Law. Little Pagoda had not given Ye Tianming the entire art, because it hoped he could walk his own path.

The Heavenly Mandate Art!

This cultivation art had a very, very high ceiling. Little Pagoda hoped Ye Tianming would continue walking his own path with it. He could draw on others' knowledge and learn from their strengths, but the important thing was to walk his own path.

After receiving Tower Ancestor's cultivation method, Ye Tianming was astonished. He had never imagined that cultivation could be done this way... At the same time, he became deeply aware of his own shortcomings.

Ye Tianming asked, "Tower Ancestor, who created this cultivation method?"

Little Pagoda said, "An ordinary genius from the universe outside."

Ye Tianming smiled bitterly. It seemed he really had seen too little. An ordinary genius from the universe outside could create such a cultivation method... Yet he had become smug over the slightest achievement. Looking back, that had been sheer ignorance!

Of course, what he did not know was that the person who had created that cultivation art was no ordinary genius.

Over the following period, he began to cultivate, using the method Pagoda Master had taught him to perceive his own mental power. Once he sensed it, he began to condense it. Before long, he could make the mental power that had originally been invisible to the naked eye take solid form, strand by strand, like threads...

Little Pagoda was actually quite shocked to see this. The kid's talent was a little outrageous. It seemed Little Pagoda would have to rein him in at the right times; otherwise, it would be easy for him to get carried away, and once he did, he might overturn the natural order, just like the last fellow.

Soon, a mental web resembling a spiderweb appeared around Ye Tianming. It enveloped him and had taken solid form.

Ye Tianming was thrilled. He now realized that whether he was doing something or cultivating, he needed a method. With a method, he could achieve twice the result with half the effort. From now on, he had to learn to seek out such methods in his cultivation.

After forming the mental web, he made another discovery: he could clearly perceive everything within it. Even a tiny ant could be sensed clearly.

This was mental power!

Ye Tianming began trying to use this mental power to control the power of the earth. Once his mental power had taken solid form, he found it easier to control the earth-vein power. He could also condense it into swords with ease, though he could form only nine swords of the earth at most. That was his current limit.

He began controlling the swords with his mental power and the Sword Control Technique. Soon, the nine swords were crisscrossing around him, making the air whistle.

After a long while, Ye Tianming collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, but his face was full of excitement. The method Tower Ancestor had taught him had revealed a whole new direction to him, one he could extend and develop further...

A while later, after he had rested, he turned and headed toward the academy.

As he crossed the academy square, he suddenly turned his head. A woman was approaching from the mountain gate not far away.

Her hair was entirely silver, and she wore a simple black robe, tied at the waist with a purple sash that showed off her slender figure. Her delicate features were so perfect that they seemed not to belong in the mortal world.

With her hands behind her back, she walked at an unhurried pace, a powerful presence spreading over the surrounding land.

She came walking up just like that. Ye Tianming was about to ask her something, but she ignored him completely and walked straight toward the main hall in the distance.